1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to surgical masks worn by surgeons, dentists and the like and which cover the nose, mouth, chin and portions of the cheeks and more particularly to such a mask that does not interfere with the breathing of the mask wearer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A nasal dilator prevents the outer wall tissue of the nasal passages of the nose from drawing in during breathing and thus reduces the amount of air which can be taken in. One approach to counter the drawing in of the outer wall tissue is the use of a band, which includes a resilient member. The resilient member is initially flat and when applied to the wearer""s nose is caused to take on an accurate configuration. The resilient member has an elastic memory and attempts to return to its initial flat condition forcing the outer wall tissue of the nose to move outwardly and open the nasal passages.
This approach has been applied to surgical masks so that the mask does not interfere with the breathing of the mask wearer. One device uses a base layer having a first face upon which a first layer of pressure sensitive adhesive is placed to adhere to the outer wall tissue of the nose. A second layer of pressure sensitive adhesive is placed upon the opposite face of the base layer to adhere to the interior surface of a surgical mask. A counterbalance strip is placed on a portion of the second layer of adhesive so that it is placed between the base layer and the mask. The counterbalance strip is a flat resilient strip of plastic or the like with an elastic memory so that when the mask is put on, the counterbalance strip is caused to take on an accurate shape about the nose. When the forces used to adhere the mask to the nose are removed, the counterbalance strip attempts to return to its initial position and pulls the outer wall tissue outwardly increasing the size of the nasal passageways and permitting easier breathing.
Present nasal dilators are positioned above the flared portion of the nose and extend from one side of the nose over the dorsum to the other side of the nose as shown in FIG. 6. In such a placement the nasal dilator operates over the lower or traverse nasalis muscles but does not effect procerus muscles or levator labii superioris alacque nasi muscles closer to the bridge of the nose and thus limits the amount the outer wall tissue can be moved and the size of the nasal passage.
The instant invention overcomes the difficulties noted above with respect to the prior art by eliminating the flexible resilient strip entirely and using the mask itself as the resilient member. Two layers of adhesive are used to attach the attachment means to the inner surface of the mask body and to the nose and face of the mask wearer. The attachment means is proportioned to extend from above the flared nostrils or ala towards the bridge of the nose to act upon the face and a number of muscles that control the nasal passageway. The two attachment means each have a base layer and a first adhesive layer on one face of the base layer for attachment to the inner surface of the mask body. A second adhesive layer is placed on the other face of the base layer to adhere to the nose and a portion of the face adjacent the nose. The base layer is so positioned that two thirds of the attachment means area is over the sides of the nose and one third of the area is over the face of the wearer adjacent the nose.
A surgical mask when placed over the nose and portions of the cheeks does not follow the contours of the nose and cheeks but rather forms a generally triangular shaped structure with the nose dorsum at the apex of the triangle and the mask body ends at the cheeks. Because the mask body is generally stiff and does not follow the contours of the nose and face, voids are created between the inner surface of the mask body and the sides of the nose and adjacent face portions. The attachment means are each located on the mask body adjacent one of these voids. The mask body is depressed towards the wearer""s face and nose using forces applied to the mask body over the voids until the second adhesive layer of said base layer is firmly engaged with the wearer""s nose and face at which time the depressing forces are removed and the mask body tries to return to its initial position and pulls the outer wall tissue of the nose and the adjacent face portion outwardly thereby increasing the size of the nasal opening. It is an object of the invention to provide a surgical mask with an improved nasal dilator.
It is an object of the invention to provide a surgical mask with an improved nasal dilator which dispenses with the need for a separate flexible resilient counterbalance strip.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a surgical mask with an improved nasal dilator which employs the resilience of the surgical mask body to provide the forces required to outwardly displace the outer wall tissue of the nose and adjacent face portions.
It is still another object of the invention to provide a surgical mask with an improved nasal dilator that acts upon a greater portion of the outer tissue of the nose and adjacent face portions than previously known devices.
Other objects and features of the invention will be pointed out in the following description and claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which disclose, by way of example, the principles of the invention, and the best modes which are presently contemplated for carrying them out.